Is Moka Pot Coffee Considered Espresso? Understanding Portion Sizes and Multi-Serve Brewing Methods

The Moka Pot: An Icon of Italian Coffee Culture

The Moka pot is an icon of Italian coffee culture and one of the most famous coffee brewing devices in the world. Its distinctive design, ease of use, and widespread availability have made it one of the essential coffee tools collected by many coffee enthusiasts.

While not everyone has the budget or space to accommodate an espresso machine at home, people can still brew a pot of coffee as rich as espresso using a Moka pot. One of the advantages and disadvantages of brewing coffee with a Moka pot is its convenience - not everyone needs an espresso machine to produce rich, crema-filled coffee.

The History of the Moka Pot

The Moka pot was invented in 1933 in Crusinallo, northern Piedmont. After working for 10 years in the French aluminum industry, Alfonso Bialetti returned to Piedmont. He established his own workshop near his hometown, where he produced aluminum household products. The most common story about how Bialetti conceived and created the Moka pot goes like this: Bialetti's wife had an idea while washing clothes. The washing machine was a bucket with a lid fitted with a tube. The soapy water in the bucket was heated to boiling, and due to thermal expansion, pressure was created that pushed water upward through the tube, dispersing it over the clothes. With the help of Luigi De Ponti, Bialetti eventually developed a coffee brewing device that works on essentially the same principle as the washing machine.

How the Bialetti Moka Pot Works

Bialetti's Moka pot has an octagonal shape, is made of aluminum, and features a plastic handle for heat insulation. The device has three main parts: the bottom chamber for holding hot water, a middle metal filter for holding coffee grounds, and the top chamber for collecting the extracted coffee liquid.

When brewing coffee, the bottom chamber is filled with hot water, then the metal filter is installed on top of the bottom chamber and filled with coffee grounds. The top chamber is screwed on tightly, and finally, the entire Moka pot is placed on a heat source. As the water boils, steam is generated, increasing the pressure in the bottom chamber, forcing the hot water through the coffee grounds in the middle section, and then pushing the hot water through a tube that runs through both chambers into the top chamber.

Is Moka Pot Coffee the Same as Espresso?

Although coffee brewed with a Moka pot tastes rich and sometimes even produces crema, it is not the same as the espresso we know today. The extraction rate of Moka pot coffee is similar to espresso, but the extraction pressures are very different. Modern espresso machines have a standard pressure of at least 9 bars, while Moka pots operate at around 1.5 bars of pressure.

The water temperature in a Moka pot is also higher. The temperature at which water boils and produces a large amount of steam is around 100 degrees Celsius, while espresso machines typically operate between 92 and 96 degrees Celsius. In fact, the extraction principle of the Moka pot is very similar to the working principle of steam-driven espresso machines from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

When the Moka pot was invented, the espresso machine used in Italian cafes was called La Pavoni. When making coffee, the entire machine had to be placed on a flame for heating. Inside the machine, a tube ran from the bottom compartment to a bed of ground coffee. When the water boiled, pressure would build, forcing steam and hot water through the tube and coffee grounds. The La Pavoni was a large commercial espresso machine designed for bars to provide quick on-demand coffee service. However, this machine was too expensive, bulky, and heavy for ordinary households to own unless they were wealthy. The Moka pot thus became an excellent alternative.

Moka Pot Brewing Parameters

Every type of coffee has its brewing parameters - pour-over coffee emphasizes grind size, time, water temperature, and so on. However, the principle of a Moka pot is to use high temperature to generate steam, which pushes hot water through layers and then up into the top chamber. This means that water temperature and time are uncontrollable. The only controllable factors are the amount of coffee grounds and the grind size for the Moka pot.

FrontStreet Coffee chooses a grind size slightly coarser than espresso for Moka pots. You can refer to the size of the filter basket's mesh gaps - just ensure that the coffee grounds don't fall into the bottom chamber. The amount of coffee grounds needed is simply to fill the filter basket and tap it gently to distribute the grounds evenly.

As for what coffee beans are suitable for Moka pots, since the coffee brewed by a Moka pot is quite rich, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using darker roasted coffee, which better showcases the coffee's rich body. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using Brazil Queen's Estate from FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil · Queen's Estate
Region: Mogiana Region, São Paulo State, Brazil
Altitude: 1400-1950 meters
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing: Natural Process
Flavor Notes: Nuts, cream, cane sugar, fermented fruits

Why Doesn't My Moka Pot Produce Crema?

Most households without espresso machines think of using a Moka pot as a substitute, which means they have the same expectation for Moka pot coffee - crema. The most disappointing thing is seeing that the coffee brewed from a Moka pot has no crema. The formation of crema is related to the roast level and freshness of the coffee beans.

After coffee beans are roasted, they need to go through a degassing period to allow the aroma molecules in the beans to stabilize, thus better presenting their flavors. Commercially sold coffee beans are printed with two key numbers on the packaging: one is the expiration date, and the other is the roast date. The expiration date is generally one year, but the expiration date is not the same as the optimal tasting period. The optimal period should be around 30 to 45 days after the coffee bean's roast date, which includes the degassing period. The darker the coffee beans are roasted, the longer the degassing period required, and more gases need to be released, mainly carbon dioxide.

The longer the time since the roast date, the more flavor compounds in the coffee beans will dissipate. Coffee beans that have passed their optimal tasting period but not yet expired are still drinkable, but the flavor compounds have nearly disappeared.

In espresso, that delicate layer of crema is actually composed of countless carbon dioxide bubbles. As coffee beans sit longer, the carbon dioxide content in the beans dissipates more, so the crema layer becomes thinner.

FrontStreet Coffee roasts beans fresh according to their roast level and the time they will be delivered to customers, allowing for the appropriate degassing period. When customers receive FrontStreet Coffee's beans, they can immediately open and brew them to taste. What are you waiting for? Get started right away!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473